The Music Technology Laboratory is the main lecture and project venue for the undergraduate A-stream courses. This lab consists of 21 computer music workstations, each of which includes an iMac, audio interface, and three audio specific MIDI controllers. All the workstations are routed to a central mixing system to allow for flexible and interactive teaching and learning. 

At the South African College of Music (SACM), Music Technology is viewed as a discipline that naturally divides into two components, vocational training and theory. The two components translate into two undergraduate course streams, an A-stream and a B-stream. The A-stream is primarily dedicated to vocational training, is taught in the Music Technology Laboratory and revolves around the use of sequencing and notation software. The B-stream, taught in the SACM Project Studio, is dedicated to audio recording and mixing practices supported by relevant theoretical or academic principles. Currently, around 70 students are enrolled in the A-stream, an elective offered to students with a measure of musical knowledge and competency. The B-stream is primarily intended for a far smaller group of Bachelor of Music degree (stream Music Technology) students.

Head of Music Technology at UCT, Theo Herbst, says; ”Our aim is to expand the existing SACM Music Technology infrastructure, courses and, most importantly, research activities. We are doing this in order to serve the growing academic and commercial interest in the field of Music Technology. The fact that we have been able to embark on this journey can be attributed to excellent and ongoing support from UCT and sponsors from the private sector, including Paul Bothner Music.”

A number of significant milestones have already been achieved. An “SACM TechTalk” series, featuring to date more than 20 speakers from as far afield as Japan, is ongoing. The next event in this series will take place on Friday 24 April when UCT’s Research, Contracts and Intellectual Property Services (RCIPS) and the Music Technology section celebrate World IP Day. The event will feature contributions by Intellectual Property legal experts and SACM postgraduate students.

A selected group of students have been enrolled in the Weathervane Music Instructor's Toolkit programme (http://weathervanemusic.org/). This programme exposes students to recording and mixing practices refined by a leading proponent of the “independent entrepreneur” ethos. The collaboration with Weathervane and other North American and European institutions is poised to expand in 2016.

A vocal recording booth forms part of the new laboratory space, giving students the opportunity to learn and apply recording principles and techniques, and creatively explore their own unique material for their various projects and assignments. 

Looking back to 2013, two music students, in consultation with the Music Technology unit won the “Get Discovered” competition hosted by Avid and Abbey Road Studios. And in 2014, the SACM took part in a Microsoft/ Nokia initiative called ‘Sounds of the world’. Students competed for the opportunity to have their work featured in an international ringtone project. When the votes were counted, SACM students contributed five of the final 20 new Microsoft ringtones released via Microsoft’s Lumia 535 phones. These were: “Back In Town” by Jonathan Prest; “African Hue” by Bubele Booi; “Djembe Jig” and “Tabletop” by Siyabulela Jiyana and Keketso Bolofo and “Kalimba Sunrise” by Frank Panaou and Rashid Adams. Microsoft/Nokia awarded cash prizes to the winners and a substantial donation was made to the Music Technology section.

According to Herbst, a particularly interesting development has been the numerous Jazz, Western Classical, Popular and African music audio recording sessions hosted by the Music Technology section at recording venues across Cape Town over the last two years. “We are excited about the growth prospects of two new in-house recording labels spawned by these activities, ‘SACM Productions’ and ‘UCT Project Recordings’. Kick-started with pre-seed funding from RCIPS, the former serves as a platform to showcase performances by staff and senior students” says Herbst. 

Two compilation compact discs (CD) with music by Prof. Hendrik Hofmeyr and South African flute compositions have been released to date. In addition, the CD release of a collaborative project between the SACM Piano and Music Technology section is imminent. UCT Project Recordings (UCPR) is intended to function as a student project-based label and negotiations concerned with the first release have been initiated.